According to this presentation (pdf), given last year by DARPA officials, IFPS would consist of a small, three-inch lightweight tag attached to a soldier’s uniform and a variety of vehicle-borne or portable receivers. The tag does not need to have GPS, allowing its battery to last much longer.

Handheld devices will be used at U.S. military checkpoints worldwide to scan Common Access Cards, the standard identification card for active duty military personnel and eligible contractors. DMDC maintains an archive of personnel, manpower, training, security, and financial data for more than 28 million individuals connected to the DoD.

Automatic Identification System (AIS) automatically broadcasts vessel information, such as their position, speed, and navigational status, at regular intervals via a VHF transmitter built into the transponder. That’s the kind of thing that could migrate to tiny Mobile WiMAX devices or even utilize domestic satellite links from ICO and MSV as soon as next year.

The transponder will be used in conjunction with the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system that provides distress, alert and location data to assist search and rescue operations. The system uses spacecraft and ground facilities to detect and locate distress beacons operating on 406 MHz or 121.5 MHz frequencies. As LEO satellites pass over a beacon, the apparent frequency shift allows responders to triangulate the position of the distress radio.

By the 1st of February 2009 the 121.5 MHz distress EPIRBs (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons) will no longer be detected by satellites. You will need to purchase a new 406 MHz beacon. Advanced 406 MHz beacons are capable of transmitting a highly-accurate GPS location within their distress message, thus, the process of distress relief simply becomes “rescue” instead of “Search and Rescue.”

Super RFID technology uses long-range radar responsive (RR) tags. Originally, the active 430 MHz tags were designed using technology derived from a radar device requiring line-of-sight for reading. Since then, Sandia has modified the technology to its current form, which employs RFID to transmit ID numbers instead of radar reflections.

Whether it could be interrogated by space radar like Lacrosse is unknown, but seems likely.